USA: Blind Pass Dredging Kicks Off

During its July meeting the Captiva Erosion Prevention District (CEPD) heard from its new coastal project manager Justin McBride, who told the board dredging was fully under way, informs island-reporter.com.

The dredging work will be performed by Florida Dredge and Dock, the contractor for the recent Ft. Myers Beach project. Work should be completed by the end of August. Approximately 75,000 cubic yards of sand will be dredged seaward and 25,000 cubic yards will be dredged landward. Beach fill will be placed on Sanibel between monuments R116 and R118. Turtle and shorebird monitoring will be completed by 8 am each morning once the work begins.

The contractor will be allowed to work 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

The need to dredge is crucial. If Blind Pass fills in completely, it will become stagnant, killing fish and plants.

One of the biggest challenges of this project doesn’t have anything to do with equipment, but with wildlife. Crews have to make sure they don’t disturb the nesting turtles or birds. “It’s being inspected daily,” said Stephenson.

[mappress]
Dredging Today Staff, July 24, 2012